The realms are dying, and only the heirs can save the city – but at what cost.

The Four Realms – Life, Death, Light, and Darkness – all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.

But the gods have withdrawn their favour from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.

Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs-Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light- will sacrifice everything to save the city.

This book was everything I wanted and more. I was in a bit of a reading slump and this pulled me out of it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Welcome to the city of Nexus, ruled by King Ferdinand and home to four noble houses with each family hoping and plotting for their heir to be named Ferdinand’s successor.

We have House Mardova who are Elementalists and as their name suggests, can manipulate the elements. Their heir is Angelica.

House Cyr are Lumins with the power to wield light into weapons and objects. Their heir is Nikolas.

House Lastrider are shades with the gift of manipulating shadows, memories and dreams. Their heir is Dante.

House Vakara with the power of Necromancy. This house has the ability to manipulate bones, speak to the dead and can guide spirits. Their heir is Risha.

Naturally there is tension between the houses, with some vying for power more than others and when things start to go wrong. These tensions rise further. Betrayal and poor timing leads one of the house heirs Dante to be replaced by his sister Taesia. Not expecting to carry the burden of heir, Taesia is put into a position she would very much like to be relieved of. Being accused of conjuration, a forbidden magic. It’s up to Taesia to clear both her brother’s and her families name. More instances break out as conjuration is used more and more and the houses are at each other’s throats.

Angelica struggles to channel her power without an instrument and the other heirs are feeling the pressure of a dying world as their sacred Godsnight approaches with a potential solution to undo a sealing and connect their worlds again and bring their home back to life. I adored the characters in this, the four (five) heirs are wonderfully written and I couldn’t help but be drawn to Taesia. She is wild, dark and understands what needs to be done. Angelica is a little unlikable but that is until you understand her.

Nikolas is adorable and a little naive and Risha is the grounding force of the heirs. She is pragmatic and sees the bigger picture. It’s also worth noting that another character Julian is also amazing, so interesting with his internal fight with himself and his own strange ability to understand animals/beasts.

This whole story is about balance and power.

The heirs are being manipulated by the king, by their families, by the houses and most importantly, by their gods. Pawns in a much grander plan that started long before they were born, they have no choice but to play their part and hope that they can find a solution without destroying each other.

This is a fantastic start to a new trilogy and from the ending of this book, I am desperate to find out what happens next. It’s dark, full of fantasy and you can really sink your teeth into Publish